The Therapy Beat

Networker movie critic and contributor Frank Pittman delighted in pointing out the follies, foibles, and excesses of the therapy world, especially anything he... Read more

People seek us out because they want change. Some want to be less anxious or less depressed, some want to be better able to control themselves in interactions... Read more

The word psychopath distinguishes hard-bitten predators. Research shows a treatment center—run by shrinks, not wardens—has reduced new violent offenses by... Read more

An alarming number of children and adolescents who walk into a psychiatrist’s office in the United States each year walk out with prescriptions for powerful... Read more

Wonder if Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man ever needed couples therapy? What might a family therapist say about the sibling rivalry of the Super Mario Bros? It’s time... Read more

Therapists are supposed to make clients feel safe and secure, creating a cozy haven from a cruel world, right? Well, when it comes to treating anxiety, more... Read more

As therapists, we typically assume that a person suffering from severe anxiety is eager and motivated to receive the help we offer. But we should never naively... Read more

In this age of helicopter parents and protective child professionals, we can often recreate a potent anxiety- reinforcing system around children that not only... Read more

You’ve probably worked with men who’ve been dragged, kicking and screaming, into therapy by their partners. But how do you work with a client who doesn’t... Read more

This issue of the Networker is about what coaches like Andrew can teach psychotherapists, and the role that challenge and incorruptible truth-telling can play... Read more

A new breed of therapist believes that it’s disrespectful not to say to clients displaying obnoxious, selfish, or self-defeating behaviors what... Read more

A therapist from a working-class background finds himself on a surprising mid-career journey into the belly of 21st-century capitalism as an executive coach. Read more

Tens of thousands of miles away from his practice, a therapist accidentally discovers a new sense of purpose, unable to distinguish the act of giving from the... Read more

While the “empty chair” was once identified as a popular Gestalt therapy technique, for many therapists today, faced with empty appointment hours... Read more

What if you could predict how well a client would respond to psychotherapy? What if a simple test could tell you whether a patient needed psychodynamic therapy... Read more

The American Psychiatric Association is scheduled to publish the much-delayed fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) by May 2013. With... Read more

Do childhood trauma and a chaotic family environment cause adult borderline personality disorder (BPD)? Common clinical wisdom says yes, but new results are... Read more

With nearly eight million Americans affected by the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and tens of thousands of troops returning from military... Read more

Psychologist Philip Zimbardo knows a thing or two about tough guys. In 1971, his notorious Stanford prison experiment, originally planned for two weeks, had to... Read more

We live in a culture of denial, especially about the grim reality of climate change. Sure, we want to savor the occasional shrimp cocktail without having to... Read more

Imagine a world populated by college undergraduates. A world filled with binge drinkers and sleep-deprived procrastinators tweeting their sexual exploits to... Read more

Even though talking and listening to people may come naturally to most therapists (if not, we’re in the wrong profession), as the writers in this issue make... Read more

In this era of medical necessity and evidence-based therapies, it’s easy to lose sight of a basic truth. We heal not through prescriptions and procedures... Read more

When we trust in ourselves to follow the signals of life that the patient emits in seemingly casual conversation, we increase chances of stepping outside the... Read more

It’s probably fair to say that most teens loathe the very idea of therapy. Yet, with confused and troubled adolescents needing our help more than ever, the... Read more

In a world where differences between people have become increasingly demonized, more than ever, the therapist's job is to help people expand their circle of... Read more

The hallmark of the therapeutic encounter is that the therapist is an expert, trained in a particular skill-set to conduct a rather odd, rarified conversation... Read more

As the status of therapist has shifted from an oversized figure with Svengali-like powers to an overworked and underpaid service provider at the mercy of the... Read more

The revolution in communication technology has created a new set of ethical dilemmas, which are invading our sessions, whether we know it or not. Read more

The ways we disclose, read cues from our clients, and dialogue about what’s been divulged are the keys to whether therapist self-disclosure helps clients’... Read more